The Los Angeles Dodgers staged an unforgettable comeback in Game 5 of the World Series, clinching a 7-6 victory over the New York Yankees and securing their eighth championship title.
With a ton of help from the Bombers, LA erased a five-run Yankees lead in the 5th inning, and ultimately held on for the dramatic clinching victory in the Bronx.
The Dodgers proved to be the better team during the course of the shorter-than-expected series. Meanwhile, the Yankees showed that they were simply not ready for the big stage.
Many fans thought this was the year the Yankees were going to break their 15-year title drought. However, the Dodgers proved that there are levels to this crazy sport.
As Yankees legend turned FOX Sports analyst, Alex Rodriguez, pointed out after the game, this version of the Los Angeles Dodgers may very well be just getting started.
While the Dodgers have been one of the best teams in baseball over the past several years, they have smartly retooled and reloaded along the way and seem to be getting more dangerous each year.
“They’re just getting started. Don’t forget, Shohei Ohtani will be pitching next year. They have a core coming back, they have incredible resources,” Arod said on FOX’s postgame show.
There are no words to describe just how special Freddie Freeman was.
On a loaded team, it was the MVP Freeman who shined the brightest as he incredibly drove in 12 runs to tie a World Series record (and he did it in only five games!)
“I did a lot of work in between the NLCS and the World Series,” Freeman said on his nagging injury. “Thankfully, my ankle got into a good spot where I could work on my swing, and I found a cue that really worked for me.
“I was able to slow things down. All you’re trying to do is swing at strikes, take balls and hit the mistakes. Thankfully, I was able to do that for five games.”
Star outfielder Mookie Betts explained just how special this particular group was.
“We’re obviously resilient, but there’s so much love in this clubhouse that won this game today,” Betts said. “That’s what it was. It was love. It was grit. It was just a beautiful thing. I’m just proud of us, and I’m just happy for us.”
Love and grit mean the world. However, it also helps when your opponent can’t stop puking all over themselves – and that’s exactly what the Yankees did in the top of the 5th inning.
“We just took advantage of every mistake they made in that inning,” outfielder Teoscar Hernandez said. “We put some good at-bats together. We put the ball in play.
“A lot of people say when you put the ball in play, things might happen. It happened to us in that inning, and we scored five runs.”
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the Dodgers winning the series was HOW they won it … Let’s face the facts: the Dodgers have had the reputation of being a soft team the past several years.
However, other than Game 4, they showed nothing but toughness and resiliency against the Yankees.
We know how “talented” the Dodgers are on paper. But many times in the past, when push came to shove, they faltered.
That was certainly not the case this time – and now they have the hardware to prove it. And as Arod said, they may very well be just getting started.
What are your overall thoughts on the World Series?
Can you envision the Dodgers developing into a dynasty???